Psychological violence against women: What factors increase the risk of this kind of intimate partner abuse?
Received:
23 September 2016,
Accepted:
10 July 2017,
Published:
14 December 2017
Abstract
Using data from Argentina’s National Study on Violence Against Women [Estudio nacional sobre violencias contra las mujeres] carried out in 2015, the article identifies the risk factors that increase women’s vulnerability to psychological abuse. Findings show that women who are more prone to be victims of this kind of partner violence are those who are less educated, older, do not earn a wage for their work, live with children at home, are involved in less “formal” long-term relationships, as well as those whose male partners have a lower educational level than their own and/or have alcohol problems and/or were victims or witnesses of violence during their childhood. The article suggests possible intervention strategies to eradicate abuse, which should be primarily targeted at empowering women and strengthening their independence from their partners.
Keywords: Violence Against Women, Risk Groups, Prevention, Argentina
Categories: Violences
References
1. Naciones Unidas. Poner fin a la violencia contra la mujer: de las palabras a los hechos. Washington DC: Naciones Unidas; 2006.
2. Kishor S, Johnson K. Profiling domestic violence: a multi-country study. Calverton, Maryland: Macro International; 2004.
3. Campbell JC. Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet. 2002;359(9314): 1331-1336.
4. Åsling-Monemi K, Peña R, Ellsberg MC, Persson LÅ. Violence against women increases the risk of infant and child mortality: a case-referent study in Nicaragua. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2003;81(1):10-16.
5. O’Leary KD. Psychological abuse: A variable deserving critical attention in domestic violence. Violence and Victims. 1999;14(1):3-23.
6. Alexander R. Wife-battering - an Australian perspective. Journal of Family Violence. 1993;8(3):229-251.
7. Romans S, Forte T, Cohen MM, Du Mont J, Hyman I. Who is most at risk for intimate partner violence?: A Canadian population-based study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2007;22(12):1495-1514.
8. Ludermir AB, Valongueiro S, De Araújo TVB. Common mental disorders and intimate partner violence in pregnancy. Revista de Saúde Pública. 2014;48(1):29-35.
9. Gallardo Sánchez Y, Gallardo Arzuaga RL, Núñez Ramírez MA, Varela Vázquez ME. Caracterización de la violencia intrafamiliar en la mujer: Media Luna. Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas. 2009;8(Supl 5):131-141.
10. Hidalgo García L, Valdés López DC. Violencia contra la mujer adulta en las relaciones de pareja. MEDISAN, 2014;18(2):181-187.
11. Castillo M. Violencia de pareja en el Paraguay según la Encuesta Nacional de Demografía y Salud Sexual y Reproductiva 2008. Revista Latinoamericana de Población. 2011;(9):27-48.
12. D’Angelo L, Hubez G, Pedro D, De Cesare MD, Farace R, Ricaurte HI. Estudio nacional sobre violencias contra las mujeres: Informe preliminar basado en la International Violence Against Women Survey. En: Degoumois MG. (coord.). Violencias contra las mujeres: Estudios en perspectiva. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Nación; 2015. p. 1-73.
13. Pontecorvo C, Mejia R, Aleman M, Vidal A, Majdalani MP, Fayanas R, Perez Stable EJ. Violencia doméstica contra la mujer: Una encuesta en consultorios de atención primaria. Medicina (Buenos Aires). 2004;64(6):492-496.
14. Pico-Alfonso MA, Garcia-Linares MI, Celda-Navarro N, Blasco-Ros C, Echeburúa E, Martinez M. The impact of physical, psychological, and sexual intimate male partner violence on women’s mental health: depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, state anxiety, and suicide. Journal of Women’s Health. 2006;15(5):599-611.
15. Cascardi M, Vivian D. Context for specific episodes of marital violence: Gender and severity of violence differences. Journal of Family Violence. 1995;10(3):265-293.
16. Margolin G, John RS, Foo L. Interactive and unique risk factors for husbands’ emotional and physical abuse of their wives. Journal of Family Violence. 1998;13(4):315-344.
17. Pico-Alfonso MA. Psychological intimate partner violence: The major predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder in abused women. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2005;29(1):181-193.
18. O’Leary KD. Physical aggression between spouses. In: Handbook of family violence. New York: Springer; 1988. p. 31-55.
19. Capaldi DM, Crosby L. Observed and reported psychological and physical aggression in young, at-risk couples. Social Development. 1997;6(2):184-206.
20. Alemán M, Vernaz D, Tilli G, Mazur V, Sammartino BR, Marconi A, Antman J. Detección de violencia basada en género. Análisis de situación del sistema de Atención Primaria de Salud en Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Revista Argentina Salud Pública. 2010;1(5):22-27.
21. Amoroso I, Fernández G. Violencia de género y sistema de salud: Un análisis de la intervención hospitalaria. Limitaciones en la detección, reconocimiento efectivo y el abordaje desde el segundo nivel de atención. Revista Debate Público: Reflexión de Trabajo Social. 2014;4(8):91-100.
22. Majdalani MP, Alemán M, Fayanás R, Guedes A, Mejía RM. Validación de un cuestionario breve para detectar situaciones de violencia de género en las consultas clínicas. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública. 2005;17(2):79-83.
23. Tajer D, Gaba M, Reid G. Impacto de la violencia de género en la salud de las mujeres: una investigación en la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires; 2013.
24. Antón García L. Teorías criminológicas sobre la violencia contra la mujer en la pareja. Anales de la Cátedra Francisco Suárez. 2014;48:49-79.
25. Hamby SL, Sugarman DB. (1999). Acts of psychological aggression against a partner and their relation to physical assault and gender. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1999;61(4):959-970.
26. Murphy CM, O’Leary KD. Psychological aggression predicts physical aggression in early marriage. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1989;57:579-582.
27. Coker AL, Smith PH, McKeown RE, King MJ. Frequency and correlates of intimate partner violence by type: physical, sexual, and psychological battering. American Journal of Public Health. 2000;90(4):553-559.
28. Yount KM, Carrera JS. Domestic violence against married women in Cambodia. Social Forces. 2006;85(1):355-387.
29. Castro R, Casique I. Violencia de pareja contra las mujeres en México: una comparación entre encuestas recientes. Notas de población. 2009;87:35-62.
30. Caballero J, Alfaro M, Nuñez Y, Torres H. Violencia psicológica contra la mujer por su pareja en el Perú, 2004-2007. Revista Peruana de Epidemiología. 2009;13(3):1-7.
31. Cunradi CB, Caetano R, Schafer J. Socioeconomic predictors of intimate partner violence among White, Black, and Hispanic couples in the United States. Journal of Family Violence. 2002;17(4):377-389.
32. Capaldi DM, Knoble NB, Shortt JW, Kim HK. A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse. 2012;3(2):231-280.
33. Kim HK, Laurent HK, Capaldi DM, Feingold A. Men’s aggression toward women: A 10-year panel study. Journal of Marriage and Family. 2008;70(5):1169-1187.
34. Vest JR, Catlin TK, Chen JJ, Brownson RC. Multistate analysis of factors associated with intimate partner violence. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2002;22(3):156-164.
35. Abramsky T, Watts CH, Garcia-Moreno C, Devries K, Kiss L, Ellsberg M, Heise L. What factors are associated with recent intimate partner violence?: Findings from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence. BMC Public Health. 2011;11:109.
36. Cui M, Durtschi JA, Donnellan MB, Lorenz FO, Conger RD. Intergenerational transmission of relationship aggression: a prospective longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology. 2010;24(6):688-697.
37. Castro Martín T, García TM, González DP. Tipo de unión y violencia de género: una comparación de matrimonios y uniones consensuales en América Latina. En: Rodríguez Wong LL, (org.). Población y salud sexual y reproductiva en América Latina. Río de Janeiro: ALAP Editor; 2008. (Serie Investigaciones Nº 4).
38. Brown SL, Bulanda JR. Relationship violence in young adulthood: A comparison of daters, cohabitors, and marrieds. Social Science Research. 2008;37(1):73-87.
39. Johnson MP. Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: Two forms of violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1995;57(2):283-294.
40. Steinmetz SK. Family violence: past, present and future. In: Sussman MB, Steinmetz SK, (eds.). Handbook of marriage and the family. New York: Plenum Press; 1987. p. 725-765.
41. Straus MA, Gelles RJ, Steinmetz SK, (eds.). Behind closed doors: Violence in the American family. New York: Doubleday/Anchor; 1980.
42. Moreno Martín F. La violencia en la pareja. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública. 1999;5(4/5): 245-258.
43. Hindin MJ, Adair LS. Who’s at risk?: Factors associated with intimate partner violence in the Philippines. Social Science & Medicine. 2002;55(8):1385-1399.
44. Tuesca R, Borda M. Violencia física marital en Barranquilla (Colombia): prevalencia y factores de riesgo. Gaceta Sanitaria. 2003;17(4):302-308.
45. Jeyaseelan L, Kumar S, Neelakantan N, Peedicayil A, Pillai R, Duvvury N. Physical spousal violence against women in India: some risk factors. Journal of Biosocial Science. 2007;39(5):657-670.
46. Yount KM, Li L. Domestic violence against married women in Egypt. Sex Roles. 2010;63(5-6):332-347.
47. Hoffman KL, Demo DH, Edwards JN. Physical wife abuse in a non-Western society: an integrated theoretical approach. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1994;56(1)131-146.
48. Heise LL. Violence against women an integrated, ecological framework. Violence Against Women. 1998;4(3):262-290.
49. Fagan JA, Stewart DK, Hansen KV. Violent men or violent husbands? Background factors and situational correlates. In: Finkelhor D, Gelles RJ, Hotaling GT, Straus MA, (eds.). The dark side of families: Current family violence research. Beverly Hills CA: Sage; 1983. p. 49-68.
50. Gaertner L, Foshee V. Commitment and the perpetration of relationship violence. Personal Relationships. 1999;6(2):227-239.
51. Pagelow MD. Woman-battering: Victims and their experiences. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications; 1981.
52. O’Leary KD, Barling J, Arias I, Rosenbaum A, Malone J, Tyree A. Prevalence and stability of physical aggression between spouses: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1989;57(2):263-268.
53. Feld SL, Straus MA. Escalation and desistance from wife assault in marriage. In: Straus MA, Gelles RJ, (eds.). Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction; 1990. p. 489-505.
54. Kim L, Gray KA. Leave or stay?: Battered women’s decision after intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2008;23(10):1465-1482.
55. Jewkes R. Intimate partner violence: causes and prevention. The Lancet, 2002;359:1423-1429.
56. Thompson RS, Bonomi AE, Anderson M, Reid RJ, Dimer JA, Carrell D, Rivara FP. Intimate partner violence: Prevalence, types, and chronicity in adult women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2006;30(6):447-457.
57. Jewkes R, Levin J, Penn-Kekana L. Risk factors for domestic violence: findings from a South African cross-sectional study. Social Science & Medicine. 2002;55(9):1603-1617.
58. Koenig MA, Lutalo T, Zhao F, Nalugoda F, Wabwire-Mangen F, Kiwanuka N, Gray R. Domestic violence in rural Uganda: evidence from a community-based study. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2003;81(1):53-60.
59. Bates LM, Schuler SR, Islam F, Islam MK. Socioeconomic factors and processes associated with domestic violence in rural Bangladesh. International family planning perspectives, 2004;30(4):190-199.
60. Flake DF. Individual, family, and community risk markers for domestic violence in Peru. Violence Against Women. 2005;11(3):353-373.
61. Kalmuss D, Straus M. Wife’s marital dependency and wife abuse. In: Straus M, Gelles R, (eds.). Physical violence in American families. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers; 1990. p. 369-382.
62. Strube MJ, Barbour LS. The decision to leave an abusive relationship: Economic dependence and psychological commitment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1983;45(4):785-793.
63. Flood M, Pease B. Factors influencing attitudes to violence against women. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2009;10(2):125-142.
64. Raj A, Silverman J. Violence against immigrant women: the roles of culture, context, and legal immigrant status on intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women. 2002;8(3):367-398.
65. Rodríguez-Menés J, Safranoff A. Violence against women in intimate relations: a contrast of five theories. European Journal of Criminology. 2012;9(6):584-602.
66. Kasturirangan A, Krishnan S, Riger S. The impact of culture and minority status on women’s experience of domestic violence. Trauma, Violence & Abuse. 2004;5(4):318-332.
67. Menjivar C, Salcido O. Immigrant women and domestic violence: Common experiences in different countries. Gender and Society. 2002;16(6):898-920.
68. Kabeer N. Reversed realities: Gender hierarchies in development thought. London: Verso; 1994.
69. Gelles RJ. An exchange/social control theory. In: Finkelhor D, Gelles RJ, (eds.). The dark side of families: current family violence research. Beverly Hills: Sage; 1983.
70. Yount KM. Resources, family organization, and domestic violence against married women in Minya, Egypt. Journal of Marriage and Family. 2005;67(3):579-596.
71. O’Brien J. Violence in divorce-prone families. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1971;33:692-698.
72. Rodman H. Marital power and the theory of resources in cultural context. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 1972;3:50-69.
73. Macmillan R, Gartner R. When she brings home the bacon: Labor-force participation and the risk of spousal violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1999;61(4):947-958.
74. Antai D. Controlling behavior, power relations within intimate relationships and intimate partner physical and sexual violence against women in Nigeria. BMC Public Health. 2011;11:511.
75. Allen CM, Straus MA. Resources, power, and husband/wife violence. In: Straus MA, Hotaling GT, (eds.). The social causes of husband/wife violence. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press; 1980.
76. Hornung CA, McCullough BC, Sugimoto T. Status relationships in marriage: risk factors in spouse abuse. Journal of Marriage and the Family, August, 1981;43(3):675-692.
77. Frías SM, Angel RJ. Ethnic heterogamy and the risk of partner violence in Mexico. Ethnic and Racial Studies. 2013;36(11):1666-1686.
78. Safranoff A. Analysing gender power relationships through intermarriage in Spain. [PhD Dissertation]. Barcelona: Universitat Pompeu Fabra; 2014.
79. Benson ML, Fox GL, DeMaris A, Van Wyk J. Neighborhood disadvantage, individual economic distress and violence against women in intimate relationships. Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 2003;19(3):207-235.
80. Raghavan C, Rajah V, Gentile K, Collado L, Kavanagh AM. Community violence, social support networks, ethnic group differences, and male perpetration of intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2009;24(10):1615-1632.
81. O’Campo P, Gielen AC, Faden RR, Xue X, Kass N, Wang MC. Violence by male partners against women during the childbearing year: a contextual analysis. American Journal of Public Health. 1995;85:1092-1097.
82. Dobash RE, Dobash R. Violence against wives: a case against the patriarchy. New York: Free Press; 1979.
83. Yllo K. Through a feminist lens: gender, power and violence. In: Gelles R, Loseke D, (eds.). Current Controversies in Family Violence. London: Sage Publications; 1993. p. 47-62.
84. Medina J. Violencia contra la mujer en la pareja. Investigación comparada y situación en España. Valencia: Tirant Monografías; 2002.
85. Crenshaw K. Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum. 1989;(1):139-167.
86. Bograd M. Strengthening domestic violence theories: Intersections of race, class, sexual orientation, and gender. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 1999;25(3):275-289.
87. Hooks B. Feminist theory: from margin to center. 2da ed. Boston: South End Press; 2000.
88. Collins PH. Black feminist thought: knowledge, consciousness and the politics of empowerment. 4a ed. New York: Routledge; 2008.
89. Holtzworth-Munroe A, Smutzler N, Bates L. A brief review of the research on husband violence: Part I, maritally violent versus nonviolent men. Agression and Violent Behavior. 1997;2(1):65-99.
90. Hart SD, Dutton DG, Newlove T. The prevalence of personality disorder among wife assaulters. Journal of Personality Disorders. 1993;7(4):329-341.
91. Hastings JE, Hamberger LK. Personality characteristics of spouse abusers: A controlled comparison. Violence and Victims. 1988;3(1):31-48.
92. Barnett OW, Hamberger LK. The assessment of maritally violent men on the California Psychological Inventory. Violence and Victims. 1992;7(1):15-28.
93. Maiuro RD, Cahn TS, Vitaliano PP. Assertiveness deficits and hostility in domestically violent men. Violence and Victims. 1986;1(4):279-289.
94. Coleman DH, Straus MA. Alcohol abuse and family violence. In: Gotheil E, Druley KA, Skoloda TK, Waxman HM, (eds.). Alcohol, drug abuse, and aggression. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas; 1983. p. 104-124.
95. Hotaling G, Sugarman D. An analysis of risk makers in husband to wives violence: the current state of knowledge. Violence and Victims. 1986;1(2):101-124.
96. Feingold A, Kerr DC, Capaldi DM. Associations of substance use problems with intimate partner violence for at-risk men in long-term relationships. Journal of Family Psychology. 2008;22(3):429-428.
97. White HR, Chen PH. Problem drinking and intimate partner violence. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 2002;63(2):205-214.
98. Flanzer JP. Alcohol and other drugs are key causal agents of violence. In: Loseke DR, Gelles RJ, Cavanaugh MM, (eds.). Current controversies on family violence. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage: 2005. p. 163-173.
99. Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género (ELA), Consultora Pensamiento Lateral, Dirección General de la Mujer, Ministerio de Desarrollo Humano y Hábitat. Las cifras de la violencia: Resultados de la primera encuesta de percepción e incidencia sobre violencia contra las mujeres en las relaciones de pareja en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires [Internet]. 2016 [citado 10 may 2016]. Disponible en: https://goo.gl/ZUymnH
100. Stith SM, Farley SC. A predictive model of male spousal violence. Journal of Family Violence. 1993;8(2):183-201.
101. Schluter PJ, Abbott MW, Bellringer ME. Problem gambling related to intimate partner violence: Findings from the Pacific Islands Families Study. International Gambling Studies. 2008;8(1):49-61.
102. Browne KD, Herbert M. Preventing Family Violence. Chichester: Wiley; 1997.
103. Kantor GK, Straus MA. Substance abuse as a precipitant of wife abuse victimizations. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 1989;15(2):173-189.
104. Follingstad DR, Rutledge LL, Polek DS, McNeill-Hawkins K. Factors related to physical violence in dating relationships. In: Viano EC, (ed.). Intimate violence: interdisciplinary perspective. Washington DC: Hemisphere Publishing; 1992.
105. Renner LM, Slack KS. Intimate partner violence and child maltreatment: Understanding intra-and intergenerational connections. Child Abuse & Neglect. 2006;30(6):599-617.
106. Downs WR, Miller BA, Testa M, Panek D. Long-term effects of parent-to-child violence for women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 1992;7(3):365-382.
107. Parish WL, Wang T, Laumann EO, Pan S, Luo Y. Intimate partner violence in China: national prevalence, risk factors and associated health problems. International Family Planning Perspectives, 2004;30(4)174-181.
108. Salvia A, Donza E. Problemas de medición y sesgos de estimación derivados de la no respuesta a preguntas de ingresos en la EPH (1990-1998). Asociación Argentina de Especialistas de Estudios del Trabajo. 1999;18:93-120.
109. Casique I. Factores de empoderamiento y protección de las mujeres contra la violencia. Revista Mexicana de Sociología. 2010;72(1):37-71.
110. Torres A, Lapa T. Familia y jóvenes en Europa: Convergencia y diversidad. Revista de Estudios de Juventud. 2010;90:11-32.
111. Callejo J. La emergencia de una nueva concepción de la familia entre las y los jóvenes españoles. Revista de Estudios de Juventud. 2010;90:43-66.
112. Domínguez M. ¿Cada vez más igualitarios? Los valores de género de la juventud y su aplicación en la práctica. Revista de Estudios de Juventud. 2010;90:103-141.
113. Shortt JW, Capaldi DM, Kim HK, Kerr DC, Owen LD, Feingold A. Stability of intimate partner violence by men across 12 years in young adulthood: Effects of relationship transitions. Prevention Science. 2012;13(4):360-369.
ISSN 1669-2381 (print version) | ISSN 1851-8265 (electronic version) | 2250-5334 (english edition)
Editor in chief: Viviana Martinovich
Publisher: Universidad Nacional de Lanús
Rector: Daniel Rodriguez Bozzani
29 de Septiembre 3901, Remedios de Escalada, Lanús (B1826GLC), Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina